وَاللهِ لاَنْ أَبِيتَ عَلَى حَسَكِ السَّعْدَانِ مُسَهَّداً،
By Allah, I would rather pass a night in wakefulness on the thorns of as-sa’dan (a plant having sharp prickles)
أَوْ أُجَرَّ فِي الاْغْلاَلِ مُصَفَّداً،
or be driven in chains as a prisoner
أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَلْقَى اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ظَالِماً لِبَعْضِ الْعِبَادِ،
than meet Allah and His Messenger on the Day of Judgement as an oppressor over any person
وَغَاصِباً لِشَيْء مِنَ الْحُطَامِ،
or a usurper of anything out of worldly wealth.
وَكَيْفَ أَظْلِمُ أَحَداً لِنَفْس يُسْرِعُ إِلَى الْبِلَى قُفُولُهَا،
And how can I oppress any one for (the sake of a life) that is fast moving towards destruction
وَيَطُولُ فِي الثَّرَى حُلُولُهَا؟!
and is to remain under the earth for a long time?
وَاللهِ
By Allah,
لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ عَقِيلاً وَقَدْ أمْلَقَ حَتَّى اسْتماحَنِي مِنْ بُرِّكُمْ صَاعاً،
I certainly saw (my brother) ‘Aqil fallen in destitution and he asked me a sa’ (about three kilograms in weight) out of your (share of) wheat,
وَرَأَيْتُ صِبْيَانَهُ شُعْثَ الشُّعُورِ،
and I also saw his children with dishevelled hair
غُبْرَ الاْلْوَانِ، مِنْ فَقْرِهِمْ،
and a dusty countenance due to starvation,
كَأَنَّمَا سُوِّدَتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ بِالْعِظْلِمِ،
as though their faces had been blackened by indigo.
وَعَاوَدَنِي مُؤَكِّداً،
He came to me several times
وَكَرَّرَ عَلَيَّ الْقَوْلَ مُرَدِّداً،
and repeated his request to me again and again.
فَأَصْغَيْتُ إِلَيْهِ سَمَعِي، فَظَنَّ أَنِّي أَبِيعُهُ دِينِي،
I heard him, and he thought I would sell my faith to him
وَأَتَّبِعُ قِيَادَهُ، مُفَارِقاً طَرِيقِي،
and follow his tread leaving my own way.
فَأَحْمَيْتُ لَهُ حَدِيدَةً،
Then I (just) heated a piece of iron
ثُمَّ أَدْنَيْتُهَا مِنْ جِسْمِهِ لِيَعْتَبِرَ بِهَا،
and took it near his body so that he might take a lesson from it,
فَضَجَّ ضَجِيجَ ذِي دَنَف مِنْ أَلَمِهَا،
then he cried as a person in protracted illness cries with pain
وَكَادَ أَنْ يَحْتَرِقَ مِنْ مِيسَمِهَا،
and he was about to get burnt with its branding.
فَقُلْتُ لَهُ :
Then I said to him,
ثَكِلَتْكَ الثَّوَاكِلُ، يَا عَقِيلُ !
"Moaning women may moan over you, O ‘Aqil.
أَتَئِنُّ مِنْ حَدِيدَة أَحْمَاهَا إِنْسَانُهَا لِلَعِبِهِ،
Do you cry on account of this (heated) iron which has been made by a man for fun
وَتَجُرُّنِي إِلَى نَار سَجَرَهَا جَبَّارُهَا لِغَضَبِهِ!
while you are driving me towards the fire which Allah, the Powerful, has prepared for (a manifestation of) His wrath?
أَتَئِنُّ مِنَ الاَذَى وَلاَ أَئِنُّ مِنْ لَظىً؟
Should you cry from pain, but I should not cry from the flames?"
وَأَعْجَبُ مِنْ ذلِكَ طَارِقٌ طَرَقَنَا بِمَلْفَوفَة فِي وِعَائِهَا،
A stranger incident than this is that a man (1) came to us in the night with a closed flask
وَمَعْجُونَة شَنِئْتُهَا،
full of honey paste but I disliked it
كَأَنَّمَا عُجِنَتْ بِريقِ حَيَّة أَوْ قَيْئِهَا،
as though it was the saliva of a serpent or its vomit.
فَقُلْتُ: أَصِلَةٌ، أَمْ زَكَاةٌ، أَمْ صَدَقَةٌ؟
I asked him whether it was a reward, or zakat (poor-tax) or charity,
فَذلِكَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيْنَا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ!
for these are forbidden to us members of the Prophet's family.
فَقَالَ: لاَ ذَا وَلاَ ذَاكَ، وَلكِنَّهَا هَدِيَّةٌ،
He said it was neither this nor that but a present.
فَقُلْتُ: هَبِلَتْكَ الْهَبُولُ!
Then I said, "Childless women may weep over you.
أَعَنْ دِينِ اللهِ أَتَيْتَنِي لِتَخْدَعَنِي؟
Have you come to deviate me from the religion of Allah,
أَمُخْتَبِطٌ أَنْتَ أَمْ ذُوجِنَّة، أَمْ تَهْجُرُ؟
or are you mad, or have you been overpowered by some jinn, or are you speaking without senses? "
وَاللهِ
By Allah,
لَوْ أُعْطِيتُ الاْقَالِيمَ السَّبْعَةَ بِمَا تَحْتَ أَفْلاَكِهَا،
even if I am given all the domains of the seven (stars) with all that exists under the skies
عَلَى أَنْ أَعْصِيَ اللهَ فِي نَمْلَة أَسْلُبُهَا جِلْبَ شَعِيرَة مَا فَعَلْتُهُ،
in order that I may disobey Allah to the extent of snatching one grain of barley from an ant I would not do it.
وَإِنَّ دُنْيَاكُمْ عِنْدِي لاَهْوَنُ مِنْ وَرَقَة فِي فَمِ جَرَادَة تَقْضَمُهَا،
For me your world is lighter than the leaf in the mouth of a locust that is chewing it.
مَا لِعَلِيّ وَلِنَعِيم يَفْنَى، وَلَذَّة لاَ تَبْقَى!
What has ‘Ali to do with bounties that will pass away and pleasures that will not last?
نَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ سُبَاتِ الْعَقْلِ، وَقُبْحِ الزَّلَلِ، وَبِهِ نَسْتَعِينُ.
We seek protection of Allah from the slip of wisdom and the evils of mistakes, and from Him we seek succour.
Alternative Sources for Sermon 223: Al-Saduq, al-'Amali, 369; Sibt, Tadhkirah, 155; al-Zamakhshari, Rabi’, bab al-khayr wa al-salah; Ibn Shahr Ashub, al-Manaqib, II, 109.
1. It was al-Ash`ath ibn Qays.
